The Dalceridae are a small

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

of zygaenoid

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s with some 80 known

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

encompassing about one dozen genera mostly found in the

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

region with a few reaching the far south of the

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

region. These are generally small or medium-sized moths with very hairy bodies. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e are rather slug-like and, along with the larvae of the sister taxa

Limacodidae The Limacodidae or Eucleidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea or the Cossoidea;Scoble, M.J. (1992). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity.'' Oxford University Press. the placement is in dispute. They are often c ...

and

Megalopygidae The flannel moths or crinkled flannel moths (scientific name Megalopygidae) are a family of insects. They occur in North America (11 species) and the New World tropics. Distribution and habitat The moth occurs in North America and the New World ...

, are often known as slug caterpillars. More specifically, they are also called jewel caterpillars due to the colorful bead-like gelatinous mass covering the

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

of many species. Crystal caterpillar, Acraga Coa

Taxonomy and systematics

More than half the described species are in genus ''Acraga''. Apart from this and ''Dalcerides'', all genera have less than 10 known species as of 2016, and some are

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

. Two subfamilies are usually recognized: Subfamily Acraginae * '' Acraga'' (including ''Anacraga'' and ''Dalargentina'') * '' Dalcerides'' (including ''Acragopsis'') * '' Zikanyrops'' Subfamily Dalcerinae * '' Ca'' * '' Dalcera'' * '' Dalcerina'' (including ''Zadalcera'') * '' Minacraga'' * '' Minacragides'' * '' Minonoa'' * '' Oroya'' * '' Paracraga'' The genus '' Protacraga'', formerly placed here, is now usually assigned to the related family Epipyropidae whose caterpillars are usually

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

References

Family description at Jamaica Moths
Moth families {{Dalceridae-stub